Using Hacía + length of time + que + the Spanish imperfect tense to express duration in the past

Written by qualified Spanish expert Inma Sánchez BA

Last updated: 2023-08-11

To express "how long" something had been happening, in Spanish you use:

Hacía + [length of time] + que + verb in El Pretérito Imperfecto

Have a look and listen to these examples:

Hacía unos meses que trabajaba con su padre.He had been working with his dad for a few months.

Hacía varios días que le dolía el estómago.His stomach had been hurting for several days.

Hacía dos semanas que no veía a su novia.He hadn't seen his girlfriend for two weeks.

This structure is also often followed by another sentence expressing an interruption with cuando. For example:

Hacía dos semanas que no la veía cuando ella lo llamó de repente.He hadn't seen her for two weeks when she suddenly called him.

Hacía tres años que trabajaba allí cuando lo despidieron.He had been working there for 3 years when he was fired.

The order of the sentence can be modified as long as you follow this structure:

Verb in El Pretérito Imperfecto + desde hacía + length of time

For example:

Trabajaba en la empresa desde hacía tres años.He had been working in the company for 3 years.

No veía películas del oeste desde hacía años.I hadn't watched a Western for years. [lit: Western films]